3 tips for getting out of a slump

I’ve always felt like I could adapt easily to change. Life has been nothing but change for me it seems like for the longest time. Just when one thing finally settles down, another starts to shift and alter what I do and how I live.

Sound familiar at all? Recently though what all this change left me feeling was frustrated – with myself. I couldn’t understand why I felt so unsettled when it seemed everyone else was doing fine. Little things would start to bother me and I didn’t have my normal attitude. Ultimately it got me in somewhat of a slump and I had to pull myself out of it. Here are a few things I did that you can try to:

Remind yourself what you’re made of – Take a hard look at yourself and see if it’s what you want to own up to. Do you want to be known as the guy who just does enough work to get by? Or the girl who gripes about coworkers behind their back? Just thinking about it from an outside perspective can help you self-diagnose and change behaviors.

Go above and beyond for your coworker(s) – It’s so easy to focus on yourself when everything around you is changing, but when you do something you’re good at for others it can be empowering. You could up the ante on a report or presentation for your boss, follow-up with the coworker you were going to train on something, or organize a team-building activity.

Switch your focus to the future – Instead of thinking about what’s going on around you right now, think about how you can affect your future. What are you doing to achieve your personal and career goals? Is there something you can do to move yourself in the right direction?  Focusing your attention on something new that you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t done yet can instantly re-energize you.

Oftentimes managers and recruiters want to know how you react under stress. If you can get yourself out of a slump and back into the game, you can prove that you can adjust well and respond to pressure in a way that is professional and productive.

The ultimate moleskine case

I have been using a moleskine notebook for almost a year now and I love it! I used to think “what a waste” because you’d pay extra for this nice notebook and be done with it in 6 months and throw it away. Now I know how nice it is to have a sturdy notebook with thick pages that is easy to carry around. It’s good for jotting down my thoughts and observations too, that might come in handy later on in a meeting or something.

Then recently I bought a bunch of sketching markers (for sketching wireframes) and had no case to put them in so I combined by moleskine, my calendar book, and my marker case into one case. I got the idea from a DIY sewing book that showed how to create a laptop sleeve in the same manner, except I added the front pocket and the strap instead of a flap. Check it out:

How Boomers could ruin your career and what you can do about it

Most people think of Baby Boomers as the managers in today’s corporate world, but that leaves out a huge population of employees that aren’t managers – they’re contributors just like you. Some are at a senior level but either chose not to become a manager or never received the opportunity. Coming in as a Gen Y contributor, I suddenly have found myself working on a peer-to-peer level with many Boomers.

There are a few things I’ve observed about working with them, that might make you think twice about their impact on your career.

Boomers are “reinventing” their lives

Think of it as a late mid-life crisis.  Boomers are “empty nesters” with no kids in the house, they are bored with their jobs from 25+ years of working, and they have to work an extra 5-10 years to recoup losses from the 2008 market crash. So what do they do? Go back to school and learn something new.

Boomers could get ahead by going back to school

With extra time on their hands and maybe even working for a company that reimburses tuition costs, it’s very enticing to go back to school for that extra certification or degree. There are new course offerings, especially related to computers and technology, that they didn’t have access to before that could expand their learning. If they aren’t changing their career they will at least be enhancing their current one to get that extra raise. With more education on their resume, they are likely to get paid more and be more competitive in the work force.

How does that affect my career?

With Boomers getting advanced degrees and learning the latest concepts, suddenly you could be passed up for promotions and projects. You can’t compete with them on years of experience. So what can you do about it?

Understand that they are jealous of you

Believe it or not, they are jealous that you have more experience in that particular subject matter. They are trying a new career path that wasn’t available when they got out of college, but that you chose early on and now they want to follow your footsteps. Some Boomers are just now going back to college to receive a degree that wasn’t required for their jobs back when they started. For Gen Y getting a Bachelor’s degree is the norm for most professional careers, if not a Master’s.

Leverage your expertise into a mentorship

A gut reaction might be to avoid Boomer colleagues or make it a competition, but the better choice would be to mentor them and partner with them. You have a lot more to offer than you think, because so much of this comes to you second nature now. By showcasing your knowledge you can still maintain the expert-level with them and not burn any bridges. In fact, if they aren’t asking your for expertise, than they are likely watching your every move so make sure you are being smart about what you say and do, too.

Keep on top of your game

Why not go to school too? You’ve already taken the basic classes, why not extend your own knowledge more? With more online degree programs you can get started easier than you think without sacrificing too much time.

If you’re starting a family or have other circumstances that prevent going back to school, you can still stay ahead of the curve by staying up-to-date with the latest research and continuing to demonstrate your value to your manager. You can even train yourself on a new skill set with the vast array of online tutorials, videos, and social networking opportunities. If you stay one step ahead of the Boomers you can protect your career and pave your own way to the next level.

Does any of this resonate with you? If you have any comments please share!

Why hiring a coworker isn’t as easy as it sounds

Somehow in the last 4 years I’ve managed to be on several ends of the interviewer spectrum. I have hired for a position that I supervised, a position that supervised me, a position that replaced me (after I transferred departments), and now for a peer position/coworker.

A “non-compete” agreement

This current position is by far the hardest to hire for because we are looking for someone who can “complement” me and another coworker’s skills because we are swamped with work. The weird thing about it is that I feel like I have to be extra careful because I don’t want to hire someone that will outshine me, so to speak. I’ve worked hard to get where I’m at and assumed extra responsibilities. I especially don’t want someone more experienced coming in thinking that they will manage me because I feel like I’ve earned the right to stand on my own and not have an extra mid-level manager over me.  My boss agrees that we are moving towards a more “flat” organization and don’t need more managers. It’s a red flag when I see a resume that indicates the person wants to be a manager or lead a team.

Finding ”Mr. Right”

The other interesting thing is that I don’t know if this person we’re looking for exists. The skills that we are looking for are related but not always found together. We don’t want to hire a complete newbie because we can only hire one person and that person better be good, but not too good that they want to lead a team. Despite the poor job market, applicants are not pouring in and we may have to settle for someone with one skill or the other. Maybe we’re being too picky.

Double-edged sword

A lot goes through the head of an interviewer. I am always nervous going in to interview someone but remind myself that the other person should be the nervous one and that I’m not the one getting assessed (although you can argue that you are being assessed as a representative of the company). I think I’ve gotten better and better over time, spending more effort listening and building questions off the conversation rather than reading from a list. I occasionally find myself thinking about the next question and not paying attention to what the person is going on about. I also worry that they are going to think I look too young and won’t take me as seriously. All are things that should improve over time with practice and increased confidence in interviewing.

Making your reports more executive-friendly

One thing I’ve learned in the field of usability is that even really smart people need to have things explained to them in simple language. Mostly because they don’t have time to think about it (read Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug).

Executive-level managers tend to be more interested in the trends and strategic insights than getting deep down “in the weeds” with all the data. It really hit me when I was talking with a doctor versus a nurse. I had been keeping a chart of how often my baby was eating and sleeping and everything so that I could see how many hours a day she was doing each and compare it to the average. I was so proud of my color-coded chart and thought my doctor would love it because he could see at a glance how well my baby had been doing. The nurse looked at it and studied it and said how great it was, too. Then I proudly handed it to the pediatrician and he just set it down and said “I’m no good at reading these, tell me how she’s been doing.” All my work was out of the window. Two weeks I had been working on this everyday and he didn’t even care. He just wanted to know if her weight was on track and if she was having the normal amount of diaper changes. Neither of those things were on the chart, unless you spent a lot of time looking at it and reading into it..

All this to say, mid-level managers are much more interested in the day-to-day stuff, and with higher-level managers it’s much more important to distill everything down to what you could say in under a minute. They should be able to look at the chart and know right away what it means, labeled correctly, and a report should be no longer than 1 page with clear headlines and concise summaries.You’ll look like a fool if you send them a 20-page report with complicated graphs and charts!

4 things I would leave my job for

When one of my colleagues recently left my team to work for a startup I re-evaluated my own thoughts about my career. Am I satisfied here? Am I missing out on better opportunities? What good will it do me if I stay here much longer?

It’s a good idea to review some of these questions periodically. It motivates me to want to do more and learn more and find those opportunities in the position I’m in, and if I don’t then that’s when I would start to look around.

Here are four things I would leave my job in a minute for:

1. better opportunities for learning and career development – if i’m not learning, i’m not growing as a professional
2. better perks - like an extended maternity leave policy (6+ months) or working remotely 24/7 so I could live anywhere in the country I wanted
3. up-to-date technology – restricting my ability to download, IM, twitter, facebook, or using opensource tools is the worst thing to do for someone who is supposed to be paid to be innovative
4. management opportunity – I can’t be satisfied in a worker bee role forever, I want to have a greater influence in the company

What would entice you to leave your job?? Leave a comment.

5 things I learned on maternity leave

Going on a three-month maternity leave is anything but a vacation! In fact, it’s more like a scary, thrilling, exhausting rollercoaster. Most people know about the sleepless nights, constant feeding, and changing diapers deal, but here’s five things you might not have known.

1. Multi-tasking takes on a whole new meaning 

Even though staying at home taking care of a child every day seems to be laid back, it’s really not. Small infants require a lot of attention and the only time you get a break is when they nap (no more than 1-2 hours at a time). I didn’t have much uninterrupted time so the only way to accomplish the same amount was to multi-task. It’s not uncommon for Gen Y mommies these days to be surfing the Web, talking on the phone, and nursing at the same time. Oh yeah and watching TV too. I could tell you all the shows to watch between 8am and 5pm…I talked about Ellen and Bonnie like they were my best friends. I also felt obligated to keep the house clean since I stared at the dishes on the counter all day, and suddenly I became the “office manager” too taking care of all the bills and mail.

2. How hard (and easy) it is to stay at home

My first few weeks at home I felt so claustrophobic. It also might have been a symptom of “baby blues”, where you feel extremely overwhelmed, but I just wanted it to end, to get a break. With nursing though I was THE only source of food for my daughter and often the only one who could comfort her. I suddenly felt trapped at home with my daughter. I made my husband take me and the baby out to run errands every time we needed something, or would sneak away when he was watching her for an hour. I made up excuses to get out of the house!

Then I got used to staying at home and not showering (I sometimes had it on my to-do list for days!) and then I didn’t WANT to go anywhere. I liked having unstructured days and started getting the hang of things with my daughter and feeling like a good mom. I didn’t have deadlines or cranky co-workers or rush hour traffic. In this sense it was easy to stay at home, but that didn’t last for long because I started missing my professional life.

3. You get to feel like a SAHM for 3 months

There is a huge SAHM blogger trend. Setting up a blog is so easy now that many stay-at-home-moms including some of my friends and sisters have their own blogs. You can see what all the other moms are doing that worked and spend a lot of time social networking with them. Even though I spent most of my time at home I was the most social that I’ve ever been – thanks to online forums, Facebook, MySpace, and blogs! I’ve even felt like I was behind the pack at times because I didn’t post my baby’s latest developments and new pictures every other day.

Homemaking is another big blog topic with SAHMs – everything from scrapbooking to sewing to digital designing. I was feeling very domestic, even though I didn’t have any time with such a small baby to be doing any of this! Being at home every day really makes you want to reach out to the outside world, and what better place than the world wide web. Most of these gals have even made a business out of it, like Dooce and MotherLoad.

4. How much of a job it is to be a parent

As I’ve mentioned, staying at home on maternity leave is a constant cycle of caring for your child. Imagine having your job change every month, week, or even every day. A baby grows and changes so fast, and especially with your first, you will need to know how to react to various situations. There’s pressure to be on top of the game with your child’s development, and especially never having a child before it feels like I’m constantly learning new things and new ways.

Even now after my maternity leave is long gone I spend a lot of time working on being a good parent.  My husband and I are still determining our parenting style and making decisions on everything from what brand of baby food to feed her to how protective we will be of her when she’s with other people.  This is one job that is never ending, but so rewarding!

5. How much you miss working

Maybe it’s because I have a career that I enjoy, but I was glad to go back to work! After three months of 24/7 childcare I was sooo ready to be with adults and use my professional skills again. It’s really a catch-22 because on one hand you need a break and on the other it’s hard to give up your child to someone else. This is just a reality that working moms face.

I worked it out with my boss to come back earlier than planned and to have reduced-hour workweeks for a couple months instead. This was the best decision I ever made! I was able to get the best of both worlds – only a few days of daycare for my child and a few days of stay-at-home-mom while we transitioned. Now I’m feeling successful at work and my child is doing great at daycare.

 

 

 

 

 

The secret to winning over your boss, part 2

I have a new boss now – my baby daughter – and I’ve come to realize another secret to winning over your “boss” especially if you want to introduce something new to them. I relate being a new parent to having to learn a new skill (or profession!) at work. The truth is that no matter what your education on the subject, you need practical experience to know what to do in a variety of situations – to really know what works. And it could change for each boss and each position.

After three months, my “boss” and I are developing a good relationship. I give her what she needs (food) and she gives me what I need (sleep), for the most part. It didn’t happen right away though. I was very frustrated in the beginning because she wanted to eat all the time and not sleep. I had to learn her style, understand the phases she was going through, and be patient.

My first several attempts and putting her to sleep in the crib were futile. She didn’t like the mobile, she didn’t like the light, or the dark, or quiet or noise. Many times I would have to hold her in my arms in bed to calm her down. I slowly came to realize some tricks to get her to sleep, by the way I would rock her side to side or by holding her really close. Then I started noticing when she was hungry and tired before she got to the point of crying.  This was a concerted effort, not just something that I inherently knew.

Here’s what I learned:

1. If it doesn’t work the first time, try try again. There’s a lot of skills that you don’t suddenly become good at. If it doesn’t work the first time, don’t give up. You might just need better timing.
2. If you try again and it still doesn’t work, try changing how you present it. There might be some tweaks you can make where it’s different enough to work.
3. Remember if you are trying to introduce something new, don’t revert back to your old ways just because they worked in the past. You are trying something new because you need to make a change!

Winning over your boss likely won’t happen over night, but don’t give up! If you have faith in yourself, you can make it work.

The Secret to Winning Over Your Boss

If anyone’s opinion about your professional skills matters, it’s your boss’s. This person has the authority to review your work and could promote, demote, or fire you at a moment’s notice. You might think you are in good standing with your boss, but have you won him/her over?

It’s part strategy and part kindergarten methodology. You have to understand your boss’s style. Is he/she an analytics person or a creative person? Tailor your reports to match. Is he/she casual or all business professional? Monitor what you say and do to complement that. Take time to observe all aspects of how your boss conducts business and how he/she rewards team members for their efforts.

The second part is the kindergarten methodology. Not much skills to this besides wanting to be “the favorite”. Going above and beyond (albeit in actual deliverables, not letting yourself drone into massive overtime. Also see the 4-hour Workweek) is one of the most noticeable ways. Careful not to look too much like boss’s pet though; other coworkers may notice and get catty about it if they feel you’re not deserving of the attention.

Ultimately though the secret to winning over your boss can be summed up as — making your boss look good. If you’re on top of your game (and delivering what your boss has in mind) you will undoubtedly make your boss look better to the person he/she reports to, and in return you will be rewarded.

Some bosses will unfortunately take your good efforts and pirate them as their own, but what it comes down to is that you’re reporting to him/her, whose responsibility it is to make sure things get done. I don’t agree with this manager approach - I feel that a boss (or anyone) should always acknowledge others’ contributions – but sometimes it’s the start to getting noticed and winning over your boss. If this should continue to happen though for an extended period of time you might consider moving on!

How to tell your boss that you’re pregnant

There are a few rare times when you are obligated to get personal with your boss. Announcing that you are pregnant is one of them, and it can be a daunting task when faced with possible discrimination.

Suddenly assumptions are made about you: your physical appearance will change, your mental and emotional state may be affected, and you will be taking a maternity leave - meaning that your team is down a person for an extended period of time and there’s nothing your manager can legally do about it. It might not be the happiest of news for your manager to hear, but here are some ways to mitigate their concerns from early on.

Never ever tell your boss that you are trying to conceive. If you have any common sense you won’t tell your boss (or coworkers for that matter) that you are trying to get pregnant. You can work around it if it comes up in casual conversation by saying “someday we want kids” or changing the subject by talking about the things you want to do before you start a family. On a rare occasion your manager may be cool about it, but you never know, and you don’t want to have speculation going around (and getting passed up on new opportunities at work), so play it safe and keep this kind of personal info to yourself. Who knows, it could take months or years to get pregnant and you don’t want your coworkers to try and plan around it.

Wait as long as you possibly can to tell your boss. After you find out you’re pregnant, keep this “secret” to yourself. Err on the side of caution because it’s possible that you may result in a miscarriage (doctors estimate that up to 30% of pregnancies do). Even if everything appears healthy with the pregnancy there’s no reason to have this news floating around for eight months or so and giving your manager more leeway to second-guess your worth on the team or what projects to assign to you. If you have morning sickness, try to control it and make up excuses if needed (“there must be a bug floating around” or “I’m on a new diet”) until it’s absolutely necessary to tell. For most women this is when you start really showing (as far along as 4-5 months if it’s your first). Until then reserve your excitement and discussion about having a baby with your close friends and family, as hard as it may be!

The announcement: Think before you speak. So you’ve held it in for several weeks or months and now you’re ready to tell your boss. Time it around a successful completion of a project or milestone. Give your boss every impression that you will be as willing and capable as ever to work at the same level, and have an idea for how much maternity leave you plan to take. This will show your manager that you are responsible and will put them more at ease with your leave time. And by all means don’t exacerbate the whole situation after you’ve made the announcement by bringing up your growing belly at every conversation with coworkers. This could lead to casual sexism in the workplace, especially from men. You will get enough attention as it is, and you want to show that you can gracefully juggle your professional career with your not-so-personal-anymore life situation. 

With any luck your manager will be more excited about your announcement than worried, and he/she will feel confident that you will be as productive and valuable an employee as ever. And, of course, try not to stress yourself out too much about it all because in the end it’s a natural process that many working women successfully make it through (and extra stress isn’t good for the baby anyway).

If you’re at all like me and feel you’ve made the most of your early twenties, your late twenties can be an exciting time for starting a family. After all the average age in the U.S. for having your first child is 25, and you’re not getting any younger!